01 October 2013

Looking to New Horizons

One year ago today, people were celebrating the 30th
anniversary of the grand opening of EPCOT Center, which opened in 1982. That
means that on this date thirty years ago, October 1, 1983, the seventh Future
World pavilion, the pavilion and attraction that is most bemoaned by its
absence, held its grand opening. It was Horizons.

The festivities were overseen by then President and CEO, Ron
Miller, and featured fabulous jumpsuits, 1980s hair that just wouldn’t quit,
and all the spectacle you would expect from a grand opening in that day and age
of Walt Disney World. Many of the props used were actually repurposed from
EPCOT Center’s opening just a year earlier.

Horizons was the epitome of what EPCOT Center meant. It took
a look at the global community and used the ingenuity of human imagination to
imagine what it would look like in the future. Everything from travel and
communication, to agriculture and energy was touched upon in some way, shape,
or form as the tale of Horizons unfolded throughout the attraction. The message
of a brighter tomorrow through the resourcefulness of the moment is something
that could definitely reinvigorate Epcot and Walt Disney World as a whole
today.

1 comment:

I love Horizons and still miss it. If anything was to remain intact from the early days of EPCOT, this was the attraction. EPCOT hasn't been the same since it was closed, and I'm glad that its spirit remains with so many fans who enjoyed it.